The First Night
by themiraculousladyblog
Summary: Hiccup's first night without Toothless. Sometimes you just need to find a new purpose. Originally Posted on Tumblr.


**The First Night | Post HTTYD3 Drabble**

* * *

Tears fell onto a piece of paper as a young auburn-haired male drew a picture of a dragon.

Well… To be more specific… _his dragon…_

Toothless had left hours earlier and the villagers had turned in early, feeling the depression of losing their dragons. And none of them questioned when the Chief went into his tent without a word. They knew this was hardest on him. They knew they would never fully understand what he was going through.

Right now, New Berk was quiet. Most, if not all, of the vikings were asleep. Except for Hiccup. Hiccup was awake and no longer the strong, stoned-face Chief he had to be earlier. The tears he shed were nothing compared to what he felt inside. And no one on New Berk could honestly feel what he was feeling right now.

_What was Hiccup's purpose now? What was his future? What was-_

"Hiccup?"

_Astrid…_

He should've known she would stop by. Hiccup quickly dried his tears and turned to see his betrothed standing at the opening of his tent, darkness masking her features. "Astrid… Shouldn't you be asleep? You've had a rough day."

It was true. After the dragons left, Hiccup had found out Astrid was injured. Though she covered it up well, no one could ignore the wincing and soft gasps of the blonde when Hiccup pulled her in for a hug. Gothi checked on her, finding her rib cage bruised, but otherwise okay.

Astrid stepped closer to the candlelight and Hiccup saw her tear-stained face. "Is it your injury? Should I get Gothi-" she shook her head, stopping Hiccup from walking towards the door.

"I.. Um… I went to tell Stormfly goodnight… But she's.."

_Oh._

Hiccup now understood. It wasn't her bruised ribs that were aching. It was her heart. Her heart was aching for the blue dragon that was no longer near her.

"Astrid-"

"I tried to fall asleep, I really did. But when I looked at the shadows in the dark I.. I saw her," the blonde collapsed in tears. Hiccup, shocked and unsure how to handle the situation, collected the sobbing Valkyrie in his arms.

Sure, this was tough on him. He had lost his best friend. But Astrid… she was supposed to be the toughest and most confident. She was supposed to be the glue that held the former dragon riders together. She was supposed to punch his arm for being stupid and kiss him 'for everything else'.

Now that she was here in his arms, crying over the loss of her dragon, she seemed so fragile, so beautiful, so…Digging her nails into his skin.

Hiccup shifted slightly, trying to loosen Astrid's grip on him. When it tightened, he tensed. "I have an idea. You'll have to get off of me first, though." Astrid responded with a sniff and slowly untangled herself from him. Hiccup removed his leg and sat on his bed, back against a tree that was just outside of his tent. There they would have a perfect view of the starry sky. He then motioned to Astrid. "Come."

The female viking made her way over to him and situated herself in between his legs, to where her back was resting on his chest. Hiccup wrapped his arms around her stomach and rested his head on her shoulder. There they stayed, sitting in silence.

"Hiccup," Astrid broke the sweet silence. "You know we'll have to find a way to live without the dragons now."

Hiccup played with a strand of her blonde hair as he gave a heavy sigh. "Yes, I know."

"I suppose… I suppose we won't need a stable now."

"I don't want to talk about that now."

"But we need to start making plans and figure out a way to get fish now that we don't have dragons. And-"

"Shhh," Hiccup pulled her closer so that she would feel his heartbeat. He knew that planning was her way of ignoring the grief. "We will have plenty of time to plan later. But for now, let's just sit here."

Astrid was a silent for a moment before nodding. "Okay." She then planted a kiss on his lips and looked back towards the sky. As Hiccup glanced at Astrid, he felt it. He had now found his purpose, his future. And his future was Astrid Hofferson.

"Marry me," he blurted out.

"What?" Astrid glanced at him with shock. Or was it amusement? He couldn't tell.

_It was now or never._ "I want to marry you."

"Right now?"

"Sure! Why not? I'll go get my Mom and-"

"Hiccup, slow down." Astrid laughed. "As much as I want to marry you and start a life with you, I'm pretty sure we can't do it in the middle of the night."

"Oh…" Hiccup blushed. "I forgot it was…"

"But yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes, I'll marry you. Assuming that was your proposal."

Hiccup's face brightened and he grinned, before kissing Astrid passionately on the lips. "Whoa, save it for the honeymoon, Mister," she pulled away and brushed her hand through his hair.

"I can't wait for our honeymoon."

Astrid snuggled closer to Hiccup, resting her head on his chest while he wrapped his arms around her. And that was the way Gobber and Valka found them the next morning, grins on their faces as they slept.

"A match made in Vahalla itself," Gobber commented as they let the two lovebirds sleep.


End file.
